*Praising intelligence leads to students who are less likely to take risks in their work thus inhibiting their learning and success.

*Instead, teachers should praise hard work and perseverance.

* According to Dweck, students who were praised for their hard work and perseverance wanted to show that they could continue to work hard and persevere. This had a long-term positive effect on their learning and on their lives.

*Teachers should provide positive AND negative feedback on student writing.

Before Reading: Think about these questions posed in the article. “Which begs the questions: Is work ethic always instilled–by parents, in young children? Can it be learned later on or, in fact, even be inherent?” What do you think?

During Reading: Look for what the article says about work ethic being learned vs. inherent and about motivation. Are there any lines in the article that stick out to you.

After Reading: Which does your experience support? So, what does this mean to you as a teacher?

You can post your response by clicking on the voice bubble on the upper right of this post.